Bible in Basic English
And we went to sea in a ship of Adramyttium which was sailing to the sea towns of Asia, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
And on the day after, we came to Sidon; and Julius was kind to Paul, and let him go to see his friends and take a rest.
And sailing again from there, we went on under cover of Cyprus, because the wind was against us.
And having gone across the sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia we came to Myra, in Lycia.
And there the captain came across a ship of Alexandria, sailing for Italy, and put us in it.
And when we had gone on slowly for a long time, and had had hard work getting across to Cnidus, for the wind was against us, we went under cover of Crete, in the direction of Salmone;
And sailing down the side of it, as well as we were able, we came to a certain place named Fair Havens, near which was the town of Lasea.
And as a long time had gone by, and the journey was now full of danger, because it was late in the year, Paul put the position before them,
Saying, Friends, I see that this journey will be one of great damage and loss, not only to the goods and the ship, but to ourselves.
But the captain gave more attention to the master and the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
And as the harbour was not a good one in which to be for the winter, the greater number of them were for going out to sea, in order, if possible, to put in for the winter at Phoenix, a harbour of Crete, looking to the north-east and south-east.
And when the south wind came softly, being of the opinion that their purpose might be effected, they let the ship go and went sailing down the side of Crete, very near to the land.
But after a little time, a very violent wind, named Euraquilo, came down from it with great force.
And when the ship got into the grip of it, and was not able to make headway into the wind, we gave way, and went before it.
And, sailing near the side of a small island named Cauda, we were able, though it was hard work, to make the ship's boat safe:
And having got it up, they put cords under and round the ship; but fearing that they might be pushed on to the Syrtis, they let down the sails and so went running before the wind.
And, still fighting the storm with all our strength, the day after they made a start at getting the goods out of the ship;
And on the third day, they let all the sailing apparatus go over the side.
And as we had not seen the sun or stars for a long time, and a great storm was on us, all hope of salvation was gone.
And when they had been without food for a long time, Paul got up among them and said, Friends, it would have been better if you had given attention to me and not gone sailing out from Crete, to undergo this damage and loss.
But now, I say to you, be of good heart, for there will be no loss of life, but only of the ship.
For this night there came to my side an angel of the God who is my Master and whose servant I am,
Saying, Have no fear, Paul, for you will come before Caesar, and God has given to you all those who are sailing with you.
And so, O men, be of good heart, for I have faith in God that it will be as he said to me.
But we will be sent on to a certain island.
But when the fourteenth day came, while we were going here and there in the Adriatic sea, about the middle of the night the sailors had an idea that they were getting near land;
And they let down the lead, and saw that the sea was a hundred and twenty feet deep; and after a little time they did it again and it was ninety feet.
Then, fearing that by chance we might come on to the rocks, they let down four hooks from the back of the ship, and made prayers for the coming of day.
Then the sailors made attempts secretly to get away from the ship, letting down a boat as if they were about to put down hooks from the front of the ship;
But Paul said to the captain and his men, If you do not keep these men in the ship, you will not be safe.
Then the armed men, cutting the cords of the boat, let her go.
And when dawn was near, Paul gave them all orders to take food, saying, This is the fourteenth day you have been waiting and taking no food.
So I make request to you to take food; for this is for your salvation: not a hair from the head of any of you will come to destruction.
And when he had said this and had taken bread, he gave praise to God before them all, and took a meal of the broken bread.
Then they all took heart and did the same.
And we were, in the ship, two hundred and seventy-six persons.
And when they had had enough food, they made the weight of the ship less, turning the grain out into the sea.
And when it was day, they had no knowledge of the land, but they saw an inlet of the sea with a floor of sand, and they had the idea of driving the ship up on to it if possible.
So cutting away the hooks, and letting them go into the sea, and freeing the cords of the guiding-blades, and lifting up the sail to the wind, they went in the direction of the inlet.
And coming to a point between two seas, they got the ship to land; and the front part was fixed in the sand and not able to be moved, but the back part was broken by the force of the waves.
Then the armed men were for putting the prisoners to death, so that no one would get away by swimming.
But the captain, desiring to keep Paul safe, kept them from their purpose, and gave orders that those who had knowledge of swimming were to go off the ship and get first to land:
And the rest, some on boards and some on things from the ship. And so it came about that they all got safe to land.
— Acts 27:2-1964, Bible in Basic English
“We went on board a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to various ports along the coast of the province of Asia and put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide him with what he needed. From there we put out to sea and sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. After we had sailed across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we put in at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. We sailed slowly for many days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus. Because the wind prevented us from going any farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. With difficulty we sailed along the coast of Crete and came to a place called Fair Havens that was near the town of Lasea. Caught in a Violent Storm Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the fast was already over, Paul advised them, “Men, I can see the voyage is going to end in disaster and great loss not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” But the centurion was more convinced by the captain and the ship’s owner than by what Paul said. Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there. They hoped that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they could carry out their purpose, so they weighed anchor and sailed close along the coast of Crete. Not long after this, a hurricane-force wind called the northeaster blew down from the island. When the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. As we ran under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able with difficulty to get the ship’s boat under control. After the crew had hoisted it aboard, they used supports to undergird the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor, thus letting themselves be driven along. The next day, because we were violently battered by the storm, they began throwing the cargo overboard, and on the third day they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent storm continued to batter us, we finally abandoned all hope of being saved. Since many of them had no desire to eat, Paul stood up among them and said,“Men, you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete, thus avoiding this damage and loss. And now I advise you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve came to me and said,‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before Caesar, and God has graciously granted you the safety of all who are sailing with you.’ Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be just as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.” When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land. They took soundings and found the water was twenty fathoms deep; when they had sailed a little farther they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms deep. Because they were afraid that we would run aground on the rocky coast, they threw out four anchors from the stern and wished for day to appear. Then when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers,“Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it drift away. As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying,“Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense and have gone without food; you have eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your survival. For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.” After he said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat. So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves. (We were in all two hundred seventy-six persons on the ship.) When they had eaten enough to be satisfied, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea. Paul is Shipwrecked When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. So they slipped the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage that bound the steering oars together. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and steered toward the beach. But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape by swimming away. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul’s life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest were to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. And in this way all were brought safely to land.”
And when the decision had been made that we were to go by sea to Italy, they gave Paul and certain other prisoners into the care of a captain named Julius, of the Augustan band.
And we went to sea in a ship of Adramyttium which was sailing to the sea towns of Asia, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
And on the day after, we came to Sidon; and Julius was kind to Paul, and let him go to see his friends and take a rest.
And sailing again from there, we went on under cover of Cyprus, because the wind was against us.
And having gone across the sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia we came to Myra, in Lycia.
And there the captain came across a ship of Alexandria, sailing for Italy, and put us in it.
And when we had gone on slowly for a long time, and had had hard work getting across to Cnidus, for the wind was against us, we went under cover of Crete, in the direction of Salmone;
And sailing down the side of it, as well as we were able, we came to a certain place named Fair Havens, near which was the town of Lasea.
And as a long time had gone by, and the journey was now full of danger, because it was late in the year, Paul put the position before them,
Saying, Friends, I see that this journey will be one of great damage and loss, not only to the goods and the ship, but to ourselves.
But the captain gave more attention to the master and the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
And as the harbour was not a good one in which to be for the winter, the greater number of them were for going out to sea, in order, if possible, to put in for the winter at Phoenix, a harbour of Crete, looking to the north-east and south-east.
And when the south wind came softly, being of the opinion that their purpose might be effected, they let the ship go and went sailing down the side of Crete, very near to the land.
But after a little time, a very violent wind, named Euraquilo, came down from it with great force.
And when the ship got into the grip of it, and was not able to make headway into the wind, we gave way, and went before it.
And, sailing near the side of a small island named Cauda, we were able, though it was hard work, to make the ship's boat safe:
And having got it up, they put cords under and round the ship; but fearing that they might be pushed on to the Syrtis, they let down the sails and so went running before the wind.
And, still fighting the storm with all our strength, the day after they made a start at getting the goods out of the ship;
And on the third day, they let all the sailing apparatus go over the side.
And as we had not seen the sun or stars for a long time, and a great storm was on us, all hope of salvation was gone.
And when they had been without food for a long time, Paul got up among them and said, Friends, it would have been better if you had given attention to me and not gone sailing out from Crete, to undergo this damage and loss.
But now, I say to you, be of good heart, for there will be no loss of life, but only of the ship.
For this night there came to my side an angel of the God who is my Master and whose servant I am,
Saying, Have no fear, Paul, for you will come before Caesar, and God has given to you all those who are sailing with you.
And so, O men, be of good heart, for I have faith in God that it will be as he said to me.
But we will be sent on to a certain island.
But when the fourteenth day came, while we were going here and there in the Adriatic sea, about the middle of the night the sailors had an idea that they were getting near land;
And they let down the lead, and saw that the sea was a hundred and twenty feet deep; and after a little time they did it again and it was ninety feet.
Then, fearing that by chance we might come on to the rocks, they let down four hooks from the back of the ship, and made prayers for the coming of day.
Then the sailors made attempts secretly to get away from the ship, letting down a boat as if they were about to put down hooks from the front of the ship;
But Paul said to the captain and his men, If you do not keep these men in the ship, you will not be safe.
Then the armed men, cutting the cords of the boat, let her go.
And when dawn was near, Paul gave them all orders to take food, saying, This is the fourteenth day you have been waiting and taking no food.
So I make request to you to take food; for this is for your salvation: not a hair from the head of any of you will come to destruction.
And when he had said this and had taken bread, he gave praise to God before them all, and took a meal of the broken bread.
Then they all took heart and did the same.
And we were, in the ship, two hundred and seventy-six persons.
And when they had had enough food, they made the weight of the ship less, turning the grain out into the sea.
And when it was day, they had no knowledge of the land, but they saw an inlet of the sea with a floor of sand, and they had the idea of driving the ship up on to it if possible.
So cutting away the hooks, and letting them go into the sea, and freeing the cords of the guiding-blades, and lifting up the sail to the wind, they went in the direction of the inlet.
And coming to a point between two seas, they got the ship to land; and the front part was fixed in the sand and not able to be moved, but the back part was broken by the force of the waves.
Then the armed men were for putting the prisoners to death, so that no one would get away by swimming.
But the captain, desiring to keep Paul safe, kept them from their purpose, and gave orders that those who had knowledge of swimming were to go off the ship and get first to land:
And the rest, some on boards and some on things from the ship. And so it came about that they all got safe to land.